Lidles is a chain of budget supermarkets. It offers some plastic free surprises. (Click the links to see a review and other options). Take your own bags
Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (German pronunciation: [ˈliːdl̩]; UK: /ˈlɪdəl/ LID-əl), formerly Schwarz Unternehmenstreuhand KG, is a German global discount supermarket chain, based in Neckarsulm, Germany,[1] that operates over 10,000 stores across Europe and the United States.[2] It belongs to Dieter Schwarz, who also owns the store chains Handelshof and hypermarket Kaufland.
Bakery section selling loose rolls and continental pastries. These are good value and pretty good – particularly enjoyed the pain au raisin. Again take your own bags.
I haven’t tried these but they look promising;
bread mix flour with yeast already added just add oil and water, what sounds like plastic free corn flour and breadcrumbs in a box (no plastic crackle when squeezed).
Sadly most of the veg is plastic wrapped and all the meat and cheese.
More
I have not seen these myself but know a woman who has.
This is an area where you want to do your own research and decide what level of protection you need. I do not use antiseptic or disinfectants because I don’t do surgery on my kitchen table or have a low immune system. I keep stuff clean and it seems to work. BUT this is a subject about which I know little. This is my understanding of it. I strongly advise you to do your own research. Here goes…..
Microbes
The world is full of microbes – micro-organisms – or germs. “Microbes are single-cell organisms so tiny that millions can fit into the eye of a needle. They are the oldest form of life on earth. Microbe fossils date back more than 3.5 billion years to a time when the Earth was covered with oceans that regularly reached the boiling point, hundreds of millions of years before dinosaurs roamed the earth. Without microbes, we couldn’t eat or breathe.Without us, they’d probably be just fine.” Which is maybe why we seem determined to wipe them out. Microbes are everywhere. Inside you outside you swarming all over that keyboard you just touched to type in that fantastically appreciative comment.
They can be divided into four main groups – bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Some are good such as the composting microbes, some are bad such as the pneumonia germs, some just bumble about doing what ever it is they do in their teeny tiny world. “By and large, the vast majority of the microbes on this planet are not those that make us sick. We have only scratched the surface to what microbes are out there, and more of them are harmless or even beneficial to us,” Says a scientist.
Kill THEM!!!!!!
But still we want them dead. And here’s how.
Antiseptics & Disinfectants
What are they and now are they different
Antiseptics are antimicrobial substances that slow or stop the growth of micro-organisms (germs)
They are used on living tissues and cells on external surfaces of the body and help prevent infections. Though they are antiseptics they are often called skin disinfectants,
Antibiotics destroy micro-organisms inside the body, NHS website says…Antibiotics are used to treat or prevent some types of bacterial infection. They work by killing bacteria or preventing them from reproducing and spreading. Antibiotics aren’t effective against viral infections, such as the common cold, flu, most coughs and sore throats.
Disinfectants destroy microorganisms which infect nonliving objects.
You would use an antiseptic to clean your hands, a disinfectant to clean your breadboard and an antibiotic to kill pneumonia Wikkipedia tells us that Some antiseptics are true germicides, capable of destroying microbes (bacteriocidal), while others are bacteriostatic and only prevent or inhibit their growth. Antibacterials are antiseptics that have the proven ability to act against bacteria. Antiseptics are not antibiotics.
Using Antiseptics and Disinfectants
This is not meant as advice I am just relating my personal choices. I never use disinfectants or antiseptics. I clean with soap and bicarbonate ( which is mildly antiseptic but not as good as vinegar).
Most Common Uses
Disinfecting The Home
Food preparation, kitchens and bathrooms are the obvious places for disinfectants. You don’t want bad germs in your food. I do the obvious things like wash my hands before eating and after I have touched anything dirty. I keep cooked and uncooked food separate. I don’t eat raw meat. I store food in clean conditions. I wash the chopping board if I have used it for meat before I use it for anything else. I have two boards that I use when preparing food. I clean fruit and veg before eating. For all of this I use soap and hot water. soap and a good scrub. I don’t think think that anything else is necessary. , Also disinfectants kill all microbes, the good the bad the stuff we don’t know what it does yet. Which is unessecary and possibly harmful. There are arguments that living in a sterile atmosphere lowers resistance to infection as the body has not built up any resistance. Clean not sterile is my mantra.
We need to talk about vinegar…..
Commercial disinfectants are extremely effective. Green alternatives are billed as kinder less harmful. They are certainly less harmful to the microbes because they don’t work as well.
Vinegar & Essentail Oils Vinegar is the much touted disinfectant of choice for the plastic free. It is about 5% acetic acid. It’s the acid that kills bacteria and viruses, most probably by denaturing (chemically changing) the proteins and fats that make-up these nasties. It is good but not as effective as common commercial disinfectants. Vinegar will not kill salmonella, “which can transfer from raw meat to chopping boards and onto other foods to give us food poisoning.” Ammonia, baking soda, vinegar, Borax, “are not registered with EPA and should not be used for disinfecting because they are ineffective against S. aureus.
Hydrogen peroxide can also be used The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved hydrogen peroxide as a sanitizer. It can kill salmonella. Research published by the Journal of Food and Science in 2003 showed effective results of using hydrogen peroxide to decontaminate apples and melons that were infected with strains of E.coli. Essentail Oils – there is even less evidence for efface of essential oils and they take a lot of resources to produce.
Cleaning A Wound
For a long time hydrogen peroxide was used as an antiseptic on open wounds and grazes. Now many recommend against it saying it also kills off healthy tissue and beneficial bacteria. In short using any antiseptics on an open wound is an area of medical controversy.
“In clinical practice, antiseptics are broadly used for both intact skin and wounds, although concerns are raised based upon their effect on human cells and wound healing. Opinions are conflicting. Some authors strongly disapprove the use of antiseptics in open wounds.[6-8] On the other hand, others believe antiseptics have a role in wound care, and their use may favor wound healing clinically.[9,10]
Web MD claim that cool running water “is the best treatments for common wounds, and that you should rinse the wound for at least five minutes to remove it of debris, dirt, or anything else that may be in there. The water will clean the wound out well enough for your body to take over without harming the still living tissue around the wound.“
I don’t get many wounds and when I do, I don’t use antiseptics. Most cuts and scrapes seems to clear up with out infection – even when travelling in some of the dirtier places. Again, not a recommendation just an observation.
Skin Disinfectants ( Antiseptics)
Removing bacteria from the skin is done to prevent the spread of disease. The area of skin you need to keep cleanest is your hand which carry microbes from place to place by touch.
Soap
The easiest way to disinfect the skin is to wash with soap and water. But don’t bother with anti bacterial soaps. “Washing your hands is extremely important for preventing the spread of infectious illness, especially at critical points like after using the toilet, changing the baby, or handling raw foods. But consumers can’t assume that antibacterial soaps are better for this than other soaps.”
Soap doesn’t kill bacteria but removes it .
“harmless and harmful microbes stick to the oil your hands naturally produce, and, absent removal, willingly hitch a ride until they reach their ultimate destination (inside of you or somebody else) where they can in some cases wreak havoc…. [washing hands]… for at least 20 or more seconds at a time, is a highly effective way of removing bacteria despite the fact that the bacteria doesn’t die, but is simply flushed away when you rinse (or wiped off on a towel).”
Alchohol
If you have no soap and water or that is not appropriate you can try alcohol. Both ethanol or ethyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol, or isopropanol can be used as antisceptics and have similar effects. However ethanol or ethyl alcohol is the stuff that makes you drunk isopropyl alcohol, or isopropanol (also known as rubbing alchohol or surgical spirit) is made from propene derived from fossil fuels and water.You can read more about it here
If you want a petroleum free product use ethyl alcohol.
ethyl alcohol.
Can be used as a skin disinfectant. It effective against a wide range of bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi, and kills most bacteria, fungi, and many viruses on the hands and skin.
It is commonly used as skin antiseptics, often in the form of wipes Wise geek
It is
effective against a wide range of bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi,
kills most bacteria, fungi, and many viruses on the hands and skin
is commonly used as skin antiseptics, often in the form of wipes or gels, and for disinfecting surfaces
Its main main effect on microorganisms seems to be to coagulate essential proteins, rendering them ineffective, and causing cell death or inhibiting reproduction.
It may also have a dehydrating effect and may interfere with the functioning of cell membranes. Wise geek
Mouth & Mouthwashes
Now this I do use. I have a troublesome wisdom tooth that occasionally flares up. I can keep it at bay with a rigorous tooth cleaning regime. When it is bad I use a salt mouthwash. And I have used hydrogen peroxide which seems to work.
Sodium chloride (salt) solution can be used as a mildly antiseptic mouthwash.
Hydrogen peroxide can be used as a mouth gargle The Merck Manuals recommended diluting the 3% hydrogen peroxide 50 percent with water, but suggest it as a rinse and part of a treatment for trench mouth, for example. The FDA has approved 3% solutions of hydrogen peroxide for use as a mouthwash. Most sources said to use it only for a short time, however, such as part of a treatment of a mouth infection. A report from Well-Connected (written or edited by physicians at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital) recommended against extended use, saying that overuse may actually damage cells and soften tooth surfaces. We were not able to find any authoritative information about hydrogen peroxide and canker sores.
Hydrogen peroxide may be amongst the better options.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved hydrogen peroxide as a sanitizer. It can kill salmonella.
Research published by the Journal of Food and Science in 2003 showed effective results of using hydrogen peroxide to decontaminate apples and melons that were infected with strains of E.coli.
You can use of hydrogen peroxide is to bleach hair. The concentrations are between 3% and 6%.
It can be used to clean blood stains out of clothes and brighten colours but do be careful it doesnt actually leave bleach marks.
DISCLAIMER
Absolutely no animal testing
The information in this blog is for guidance only. None of the recipes or tips in this blog have not been tested on anyone other than me and some fearless chums. I strongly advise you do your own research and proceed very carefully. Be aware of the risks of listening to someone who
N.B. lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x
There’s a new kid on the block – the coconut fibre scouring pad. It is a tangle of strong matted coconut fibre. It is tougher than the luffa not as brutal as a metal it is excellent for mid range cleaning. I have been using mine for a while now and it is still nice and wiry unlike the luffa which tends to soften up with use. I have used it in a wide range of circumstances and I am pleased with the results. I think they compare well with synthetics and can be used as an alternative.
It comes simply packaged in a cardboard sleeve so no rubbish there.
This online shop are very aware of problematic plastic misuse and have a great packaging policy. Tell them you want no plastic packaging and you will be heard.
They also do a good-looking range of bamboo products including crochet hooks and pegs.
Great fabric shops are a joy to visit. they are usually a great source of expertise as almost everyone working there will be a home sewer. It also gives you chance to feel the fabric, check out the drape and see if that shade of green really does suit you.
Here are some of my favourites…
Everywhere
John Lewis, Limited but nice fabrics, trimmings and fixings sewing machines
Manchester
Leon’s, Chorlton Best of the bunch for range. This store has been around for ages. They sell everything from gingham to fluero lycra. It is independent, a great resource and of course a local employer. It is much valued by the community. OPENING HOURS: Mon-Sat 9:30am – 5:30pmLate night Thursdays 8:00pm Website www.leonsfabrics.co.uk
Abakan Manchester city center huge mix of fabrics sold by the weight or meter. Good range of trimmings and craft supplies.
I used to go to Jacks a small stall selling all types of fabric including end of line remnants of Yorkshire made wooden fabric. Not any more. They have closed.
There are other fabric stalls on the market including B&M who do a great range which you can preview via their Facebook page. handy.
BUT they nolonger sell wool.
So I was extremely glad to see Fletchers Fabrics were selling lovely fine wool at the bargain price of £5 a meter.
Lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x
And before you go…
If you have found the #plasticfree information useful, please consider supporting us. It all goes to financing the project (read more here) or
DoYourBit is an organic cotton reusable bag company locally run in the UK that aims to put an end to the excessive amount of plastic packaging we find in shops and supermarkets like Tesco or Asda. The goal is to focus on package-free items which produce zero waste. From fruits and veg to bread or nuts, to be used for non-food items or also as gift wrap instead of using the disposable one time use stuff most people use nowadays – you can use these bags any way you wish!
Originally from Canada but now living in the UK, when I first moved here it came as a shock to me how much plastic there was and how few zero waste options there were. I began searching and it wasn’t even possible to buy produce bags locally. I had to order them online and have them shipped from elsewhere in Europe. Since then, I decided to start up DoYourBit with the hope of spreading the word of using less plastic disposables and creating change in a world where plastic is everywhere. My goal is to help everyone do THEIR bit to reduce the environmental impact they have on the planet.
Not only is DoYourBit a local company but the material is also locally sourced from a fair traded fabric company which helps us do our bit by buying locally as well! You can use these bags for everything; at the bakery, farmer’s markets, supermarkets etc. They are 100% handmade and machine washable.
Details:
Drawstring bag 34x28cm (with olive green cord)
Sets of 3 or 5 bags available
*Different bags sizes can be requested and custom-made for customers
Find out if a shop near you sells bulk food loose. This is stuff that that normally comes plastic packaged ie rice, pasta and salt. And yes these shops do exist in the U.K. There’s just not many of them. Heres alist of towns with shops selling loose food, organised alphabetically.
Please note…
This post was written by the contributor and is a PfU.K. Directory submission.
And the Pf U.K. Directory is…?
…a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.
The DIRECTORY is to promote their fantastic work. Read more here…
Got a project?
It is very easy to get a project featured. Each contributor submits a short synopsis of their project, focussing on the plastic aware element and I post it. You can read the submission guidelines here.
Do not mix up your alcohols. This is not a warning of the type “wine after beer makes you feel queer” but an explanation of some rather confusing product names.
There are two kinds of alcohol
Ethyl alcohol – also known as booze
Isopropyl alcohol, or isopropanol (also known as rubbing alchohol or surgical spirit)
Ethyl alcohol
is a colourless volatile flammable liquid which is the intoxicating constituent of wine, beer, spirits, and other drinks,
It is produced by the fermentation of sugars by yeasts.
It is a one of the oldest recreational drugs used by humans.
Its structural formula, CH3CH2OH, is often abbreviated as C2H5OH, C2H6O or EtOH.
Isopropyl alcohol, or isopropanol (also known as rubbing alchohol or surgical spirit) is made from propene derived from fossil fuels (oil) and water. You can read more about it here
Ethyl alcohol
Uses include
The ones that don’t really concern us – as a fuel, an industrial solvent, preservative for biological specimens fuel., a solvent in the manufacture of varnishes and perfumes.
From a plastic free perspective it can be used as a
Short alcohols are what chemists call Amphiphilic; they interact favourably with both polar and non-polar things.
So if you add a bunch of alcohol to your grease the alcohol starts mixing with it. It mixes with it all over (because it is amphiphilic), but one of the important ways it mixes is by getting in between the long fatty chains. This helps liquefy the grease because the long fatty chains packing together is what makes grease a solid; if you stick something small in between the long grease chains they effectively melt (similar to plasticizing agents in polymers).
So why not use ONLY alcohol? Because while alcohol interacts favourably with all of the grease, it can’t actually dissolve much of it on a weight of grease per volume alcohol basis. You can dissolve (note this is not the correct technical term, but is serviceable for us) much, much more fat into water with soap. From Reddit
Buy
you can buy pure Ethanol from eBay. This is 95% alcohol. Do not drink it. Keep it out of the way of children ( which includes daft teenagers). It must be used carefully. Then there is the issue of packaging. It will probably come in a plastic bottle and plastic packaging.
Then you have to consider the additives. Denatured, or industrial, alcohol is ethanol mixed with unpleasant additives making it undrinkable. Obviously you cannot use this to make essences flavourings and tinctures.
The other option is to buy the highest proof booze you can find.
What Is Proof
Alcohol proof is a measure of the content of ethanol (alcohol) in an alcoholic beverage. The term was originally used in the United Kingdom and was equal to about 1.75 times the alcohol by volume (ABV). The UK now uses the ABV standard instead of alcohol proof. Alcohol proof – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The proof then comes out to be about 1.75 times the alcohol by volume percentage. So when alcohol is described as 100% proof it works out at roughly 50% actual ethanol (alcohol) to water.
100% Alchohol
So forget proof lets go for percent – is it possible to get 100% alcohol? Apparently not. This webpage explains why
The highest proof alcohol you can buy is Everclear, at 190 proof. That’s nothing! Let’s get together and make an alcohol that’s 200 proof! Except we can’t possibly do that. There’s a physical limit to how pure alcohol can actually get, and we’ll tell you why.
Difference between ethanol and vodka Ethanol is ~96% ethanol, 4% water. Vodka around 40% alcohol to 60% water.
N.B.
lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x
And before you go…
If you have found the #plasticfree information useful, please consider supporting us. It all goes to financing the project (read more here) or
This one product can replace hundreds of plastic bottles on your shelves. It does biodegrade. However there are issues about how it is obtained. I say it is a good product but use in moderation. Locally made soap is a greener cleaning option to my mind.
It can mined directly from the ground as Nahcolite. This is a soft, colourless or white carbonate mineral with the composition of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3). It may also be called thermokalite.
Manufactured
Most Bicarbonate of soda is produced by either of these heavily industrialized processes The Solvay ProcessUses limestone, salt and ammonia to transform salt (sodium chloride). Mining –Tronaore is mined, then heated until it turns into soda ash also known as washing soda. Bicarbonate of soda is obtained along the way. Read more.
Baking Soda V Washing Soda
Baking Soda’s PH is not as alkaline as washing soda, so it doesn’t cause skin irritation and you don’t need gloves to handle them. It is not as harsh as washing soda but neither is it as effective a cleaner. It is also half as effective at softening water.
You can turn bicarb back into washing soda by baking it so that breaks back down into water steam, carbon dioxide and washing soda. I have never done this but by all acounts need to cook your bicarb in the oven for half an hour at 400 F (or 200 C). You can compare and contrast them here.
Bicarbonate As A Cleaner
Bicarbonate is alkaline. Alkaline cleaners work well because they emulsify grease. Fatty acids are normally insoluble which is why they cannot be cleaned using water alone. The alkaline breaks down fat making them dispersable in water.
They also coat the dirt with negatively charged hydroxide ions which means the dirt particles repel each other. So rather than massing together in a big greasy clump they remain suspended in solution so again can be rinsed off. Read more HERE
Deodorising
Bicarb can be used to get rid of acid based nasty smells.
“Many carboxylic acids have unpleasant smells and tastes. They are responsible for:
the taste of vinegar
the smell of sweaty socks
the taste of rancid butter
Carboxylic acids are weak acids. This means that dilute solutions of carboxylic acids have higher pHs (ie are less acidic) than dilute solutions of strong acids such as hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and sulfuric acid.
Weak acids are less reactive than strong acids.” Read more HERE
Baking soda is an effective deodorant “because of its basicity. Many foul-smelling compounds are acidic. Neutralizing the compound gives it an ionic character which reduces the vapor pressure (meaning it is less available for the nose to smell it) and makes it much more water soluble (it can be washed away).” Source
Cooking
Bicarbonate can be used to make baking soda “Baking soda, is also used to make cookies, cakes, biscuits, and similar pastries “rise” during baking. In the presence of an acid, it easily decomposes into carbon dioxide and a sodium salt of that acid, and the trapped bubbles provide the textures we enjoy in those foods. Note that “baking powder” is a simple mixture of baking soda and a dry acid such as cream of tartar,” often with a starch added to provide bulk.
Bicarb is available fromk Wing Yip Chinese Super Store in Manchester in bulk in paper bags
Wilco’s in a cardboard box Dri Pac in cardboard boxes with plastic liners.
You can also get some great deals on ebay but it does come plastic wrapped.However when you think how much you can do with it, and how many plastic bottles it, replaces you might consider it a worthwhile trade off!
More
Borax, washing soda, bicarbonate or all three. What should you use for your cleaning needs? A comparison HERE
Information on PH balances and other cleaning products can be found HERE
Going plastic free means you need to know so much more about the basic stuff that you use, what it is, where is it from and even some chemistry – urk!
So here is some information about science, green issues and other related subjects that impact on the plastic debate. Plus a look at the alternative products being touted and thoughts on how better they actually are.
Hydrocarbon is a molecule that only contains hydrogen and carbon atoms, joined together by covalent bonds. Remember that a covalent bond is ... Read More
Methane is a short-lived climate pollutant with significant climate warming potential. Methane gas, or biogas, is released when organic material ... Read More
Plants and animals are organic everything else is inorganic Inorganic things are made from chemicals. Chemicals are also found in organic ... Read More
This post talks about Microbes Antiseptics Disinfectants Alcohol Bicarbonate Of Soda Vinegar Hydrogen peroxide Soap Essential oils This is an area ... Read More
Incineration is to dispose of waste materials by burning them. The end results are heat, ash and gases. High-temperature waste treatment systems ... Read More
The chemical name for dioxin is: 2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo para dioxin (TCDD). The name "dioxins" is often used for the family of ... Read More
N.B.
I have no wish to add to the massive amounts of misinformation out there.
Please note I am no chemist, I know nothing of the sciences. Much of the information here has been gleaned from the unreliable Google Mines and filtered through my total ignorance. I think it’s correct. If It’s not please do tell me.
You might also like to try
Definitions terms you will come across in your quest to be plastic-free and understand synthetic polymers
About The Alternatives – discussing alternative products to the now standard plasticfare including the raw materials needed to make your own plastic free products
Pets are not really my area of expertise. I had a goldfish once but that’s it. So please if you can add anything useful to this post, dive in.
Homemade Dog & Cat
When we were pet sitting in Loas, we would buy meat from the market and boil it up with rice. That kept 2 dogs and 3 cats going.
1 kilo rice
1 kilo mainly liver and a bit of intestine
Boiled the meat – drained the water used that to boil the rice.
Mixed the two together.
Lasted for 9 feeds they were fed twice a day.
The weight of the container may make a difference at checkout. Some shops subtract the tare weight but other don’t. The tare weight is the weight of the empty container.
Incineration is to dispose of waste materials by burning them. The end results are heat, ash and gases.
High-temperature waste treatment systems are described as “thermal treatment”.
Incinerating reduces the need for landfill but does not eliminate it. It reduces the soid mass of waste by 80–85% . The reamaining ashes still have to be disposed of.
A dump truck drops the municipal waste into a warehouse-sized pit. Then a giant claw (much like one that picks up loot in an arcade game) grabs nearly a truckload of garbage and dumps it into an incinerator.
The incinerator is initially fired up with gas or other combustible material.
The process is then sustained by the waste itself. Complete waste combustion requires a temperature of 850º C for at least two seconds but most plants raise it to higher temperatures to reduce organic substances containing chlorine. Flue gases are then sent to scrubbers which remove all dangerous chemicals from them. To reduce dioxin in the chimneys where they are normally formed, cooling systems are introduced in the chimneys. Chimneys are required to be at least 9 meters above existing structures.
Technology developed in Europe mixes the waste at temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat then makes steam, which runs a turbine and produces electricity.
Pathogens and toxins can be destroyed by high temperatures making incineration a very good choice for certain kinds of waste.
Unlike landfill there is no release of methane. Every ton of MSW incinerated, prevents about one ton of carbon dioxide equivalents from being released to the atmosphere.
The leachates that are produced in landfills by waste are totally eliminated.
By reducing waste it reduces the pressure on landfill space.
As for carbon dioxide—the big class of emissions that isn’t yet regulated—WTE actually performs quite well compared with other methods of electricity generation. On its face, WTE appears to be very carbon-intensive. The EPA reports that incinerating garbage releases 2,988 pounds of CO2 per megawatt hour of electricity produced. That compares unfavorably with coal (2,249 pounds/megawatt hour) and natural gas (1,135 pounds/megawatt hour). But most of the stuff burned in WTE processes—such as paper, food, wood, and other stuff created of biomass—would have released the CO2 embedded in it over time, as “part of the Earth’s natural carbon cycle.” As a result, the EPA notes, only about one-third of the CO2 emissions associated with waste-to-energy can be ascribed to fossil fuels, i.e., burning the coal or natural gas necessary to incinerate the garbage. In other words, WTE really only produces 986 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour. “So we’re roughly equivalent to natural gas, and half of coal,” Michaels says. “But coal and natural gas don’t manage solid waste.”
However not all good news….
The ashes are toxic and so need further treatment. As such they were cause for concern however “Ash from modern incinerators is vitrified at temperatures of 1,000 °C (1,830 °F) to 1,100 °C (2,010 °F), reducing the leachability and toxicity of residue. As a result, special landfills are generally no longer required for incinerator ash from municipal waste streams”
The gases too need to be “cleaned” of pollutants before they are dispersed into the atmosphere. proponents of the technology claim that the flue scrubbers are up to the job while many others feel there is cause for concern.
Waste To Energy Systems
The heat created when incinerating the waste is used to make electricity which seems like a good idea.
It is important to remember that waste to energy systems do not make money or even cover the cost of waste incineration but they do offset it.
The plants are very expensive to build and once built need a lot of fuel (waste) to run them. They need to be kept running. This means that alternatives forms of waste disposal like recycling are no longer promoted.
Mandatory service area: Spokane County / 430,000 ratepayers Type of contract: Full service/Operate Wheelabrator / Waste Management Ownership: City of Spokane Financing ($110 million): Revenue Bonds – Mandatory debt to entire County
Department of Ecology Grant ($60 million) Start-up: 1991 Expenses and Revenues for 2009: Cost of Operation $17.2 million ($62 per ton) Cost of Ash Disposal $4.1 million ($47 per ton) Cost of Debt $9 million TOTAL COSTS $30.3 million Electricity Revenue $11.4 million Materials Recovery $0.1 million NET COST OF OPERATIONS$18.8million ($68 per ton)
Refuse Combustion:
Operation: 24-hours per day, 7 days per week Process Lines: 2 @ 400 tons-per-day Plant maximum daily capacity: 800 tons Average thru-put: 720 tons per day (365 days per year) Feed system: 2 overhead refuse cranes with ram feeder Grate design: Von Roll reciprocating Combustion temperature: 2500° F Auxiliary fuel: Natural gas Waste weight reduction: 65% Annual Greenhouse Gas Production 600,000,000 Pounds CO2 CO2 per MWH 4480 pounds of total CO2 per Megawatt Hour:
1580 pounds of fossil CO2 / MWh plus,
2900 pounds of bio CO2 / MWh BTU values:
Garbage = 4,800/pound
Coal = 12,000/pound
Plastic = 14,000/pound
Tires = 16,000/pound
The Friends Of The Earth worries about the waste of resources. The Following was taken from the website
Resource efficiency: Incineration wastes valuable resources such as metals, plastics, wood or biodegradable materials that could otherwise be salvaged through recycling. Every tonne of incinerated materials has to be extracted and processed again, increasing environmental damage and the European economy’s dependence on expensive imports. More energy is saved through recycling than is extracted by burning most waste
Climate change: Incineration produces greenhouse gas emissions – a typical incinerator converting waste to electricity produces around 33 percent more fossil fuel-derived carbon dioxide than a gas-fired power station. In contrast, recycling saves greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding the need to extract and process primary resources.
Jobs: Recycling creates jobs. Recycling 10,000 tonnes of waste creates up to 250 jobs, compared to 20 to 40 jobs if the waste is incinerated, and about 10 if it is landfilled.
Laura Haight, senior environmental associate at New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), says that if the petition passes, waste will take incentives away from more sustainable technologies like wind and solar. She also says that presenting the issue as though incineration offsets landfill emissions is the wrong approach.
“In framing this whole debate as incineration versus landfills, they’re pushing the needle back 20 years,” said Haight. “Twenty years ago, people used to say we need to do more recycling; now we’re talking about more burying or burning. No, we need to be doing more recycling.”
Haight points out that more energy is saved by reusing materials instead of destroying them. Also, rather than being burned, biomass could be composted and used for energy recovery, she said.
Dirt, stains and even rusts are all known as soils in the cleaning world. That is as in soiled rather than the brown stuff worms eat. Cleaning is the removal soil. Again forget about spades!
Soils fall into 2 categories, organic and inorganic
Organic soils such as fat, grease, protein like blood, and carbohydrate. I dont know what carbohydrate soil is – any one else? Mold, yeast and bacteria, motor oil, axle grease, cutting oils and other petroleum soils.
Inorganic soils such rust, scale, hard water deposits and minerals such as sand, silt and clay.
They require different cleaning solutions
Organic soils are usually best moved using alkaline cleaners.
Inorganic soils prefer an acid cleaner.
Minerals are often cleaned with general purpose cleaners.
Alkaline & Acid Solutions
Wether a solution is acid or alkaline is down to how much how much hydrogen is in a solution.
Acidity is measured in pH or the power of hydrogen.
It is shown in number form on the pH scale of 1 to 14.
Confusingly the lower the number the higher the hydrogen. The higher the hydrogen the more acidic the solution.
pH 1 = lots of hydrogen (H+) ions in solution
pH 14 = hydroxyl ions (OH–) in solution
If you know the nature of your soil you know how to clean it.
Alkaline cleaners
Alkaline cleaners work well because they emulsify grease. Fatty acids are normally insoluble which is why they cannot be cleaned using water alone. The alkaline breaks down fat making them dispersable in water.
They also coat the dirt with negatively charged hydroxide ions which means the dirt particles repel each other. So rather than massing together in a big greasy clump they remain suspended in solution so again can be rinsed off.
“Tthe alkali will break down the fats making the residue soluble or dispersible in water. It’s called saponification: alkalis turn fats into soap which is why a greasy floor gets as slippery as a bag of arseholes when you put an alkali on it. While we rely on thermal disinfection in dish washers the fact is the alkali in a proper machine wash turns microbial cell walls into soap.”
Acidic Cleaners
Do not cut through grease. Vinegar the acid much touted as a cleaning fluid will be no good on your greasy stains because Vinegar is polar, while oils are nonpolar, so they don’t interact well together. (You have seen how oil and vinegar in salad dressing separate from each other — this is because of their opposite polarity.)
Inorganic soils include grit, salt, rust and limescale.
They are best cleaned using acids
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Further to this Natracare actively campaigns against plastic. With the help of local girl guides groups the Natracare team organised a Coastal Clean Up on Rottingdean beach near Brighton and the company has supported various awareness raising projects about plastic in the ocean such as the ‘Making Waves’ art exhibition in Bristol and the Midway Film Project.
This post was written by the contributor. It is not a Plastic Is Rubbish review, does not represent my personal opinions and I have not used this product or service. Instead it is a PfU.K. Directory submission.
The Pf U.K. Directory is…?
…a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.
The DIRECTORY is to promote their work not mine. Read more here…
Got a project?
It is very easy to get a project featured. Each contributor submits a short synopsis of their project, focussing on the plastic aware element and I post it. You can read the submission guidelines here.
